Taking Advantage of Stat CSR Templates

What’s a Template?

A Template is a set of predefined statements or questions that will appear in the Description, or Resolution text area of a CSR. Including a CSR Type specific template will ensure you are capturing all of the important information that is relevant to your organization and the type of change that your people are dealing with.

When a user working on a CSR selects a type or application associated with a template, Stat automatically inserts that template into the text field of the tab that it has been defined for.

You get to the Template Maintenance screen via the Stat Main Toolbar Maintenance Menu as follows:

Template Types: There are two main types of templates you can create for a CSR:

Template Use Targeting: There are two locations, specifically tabs, within a CSR that a template can appear: These are controlled in the “CSR Type Template Maintenance” screen.

Description Tab: Choose the “Description” value from the “Desc Type” drop-down menu to create a template that will appear in the “Description” tab of a CSR.

Resolution Tab: Choose the “Resolution” value from the “Desc Type” drop-down menu to create a template that will appear in the “Resolution” tab of a CSR.

Flexibility: You can define a separate template for each Application and Type of CSR in each distinct Service Domain that you work within.

Multiple Templates per CSR: If a template exists for both the selected CSR “Type” and the “Application” the CSR is effecting. Stat displays the Type template first and the Application template immediately below the first.

How Do I Make a Template Appear on a New CSR?

When you create a new CSR in the Stat Windows Client, you will see a new CSR window appear. Based on the Application or CSR Type you chose, a template will appear in the lower section of the CSR entitled “Description”.

Below is an example of a CSR in process of type “PS Patch”.

And there you have it! Including a CSR Type specific template will ensure you are capturing all of the important information that is relevant to your organization.

Stat Template Editor vs. A Word Document:

You may have created templates in the past and found that the Stat Template Editor provides you with Rich Text Format (RTF) functionality. These include things like Fonts, Text Colors, Spell Check, Bold, Italic and Underline. However, what’s important is that you do not have to use the Stat Template Editor distinctly. You may chose to use whatever document editor you are most comfortable with.

Ok, so now you are asking yourself – Why are you telling me this Bill and why do I care? Well, I personally find that creating my templates in MS Word is just slightly a bit more ‘comfortable’ for me as I create a lot of different types of documents – such as Whitepapers, Blogs like this one, and other things. It may simply be that I’m a bit more comfortable creating ‘document’ type things with MS Word, which is probably the only reason.

Tips on Layout/Font Suggestions:

Depending on whether you use the Stat Web Client, the following are suggestions on Fonts and Colors that may want to be aware of.

Font Sizing: As a general rule, try not to use any font size greater than 11 Points.

Choosing the Right Font: Consider using a “System” Font. Although they may not look as pretty or fancy as you may want them to be, they are displayed consistently when you view the template within the Stat Windows Client or view them on a Web Browser - or upgrade your Web Browser.

A Tip From The Stat Admin Guide: “Note: Make sure the template definition does not contain carriage returns at the end of its text, which results in random characters being added to the Description and Resolution tabs in CSRs that use the template.”

Optional vs. Mandatory Questions:

This section will look at Optional vs. Mandatory Questions and how to make sure they happen. There are two ways to enter the answer to the questions that you post in your template.

For information that you want to capture that is recommended, but not mandatory, at the end of the statement or question, enter a “Less Than” character (<) and then a “Greater Than” character (>). For Example:<Recommended user comment/answer goes here. >

For information that you want to capture that is mandatory, at the end of the statement or question, enter double “Less Than” characters (<<) and then double “Greater Than” characters (>>). For Example:<<Mandatory user comment/answer goes here. >>

Sample Templates:

Below are multiple templates that I find I use the most. You are free to copy and use them as you see fit, these are suggestions and layouts that I have used in the past and found them to be the most flexible and user friendly. Here’s how the following templates are laid out:

PSoft Patches:

Emergency PS Patch Application:

Standard PS Patch Application:

PSoft Application Software:

Standard PS Software Fix/Enhancement:

Emergency PS Software Fix:

Custom Applications/Software:

Standard Custom Applications Software Fix/Enhancement:

Emergency Custom Applications Software Fix:

Hardware Related:

Standard Hardware Fix/Enhancement:

Emergency Hardware Fix:

Database Refresh Related:

Database Refresh:

Emergency Database Refresh:

Sample Templates:

Emergency PS Patch Template:

No Approvals Will Be Given For Patches Unless An Application

Schedule Has Been Included:

When Will This Patch Be Applied? (mm/dd/yyyy)? < >

Please Enter Source: < HRDMO > And Target < HRDEV > Environments.

What Group Is Sponsoring This Change? < >

Did You Attach the Patch XML File from the Change Assistant Template? < Y >

Please EnterPatch CA Download Directory: < >

Is DBA Support Needed? (Y/N) < >

Insert Link Here to Application Schedule:<< >>

Standard PS Patch Template:

Please Ensure You Update Any Relevant Documentation Needed Immediately After The Emergency Patch Has Been Applied.

When Will This Patch Be Applied? (mm/dd/yyyy)? < >

Expected Implementation Date < >

What Group Is Sponsoring This Change? < >

Did You Attach the Patch XML File from the Change Assistant Template? < Y >

Please Post a “Process Complete” Message to the Development SharePoint Server When the Refresh is Completed.

Well, that’s it for this Blog. Looking back over it, it may be a bit large to be called a “Blog”. However since I’m the one who wrote it, I get to call it what I’d like. I hope this blog will be of assistance to you in your daily use of Stat.

Please feel free to post back any of the following:

· Thoughts or Comments on this post

· If you would like to share your own Template Samples

· Suggestions for future posts

Respectfully Submitted,

William R. HartSolutions ArchitectQuest Software, Inc.

About the Author

William.Hart

Promoting a positive Stat User Community and enriching the value of the Stat investment. William has worked with the Stat application for over twelve years. He specializes in the areas of PeopleSoft and...